Weekend Recess State Skallege Upcoming ska shows brings horn-rimme Caribbean influences to the area Vol. 96, No. 73 26 Pages ©1995 Collegian Inc University President Graham Spanier, left, and Senior Vice President and Dean of the Commonwealth Educational System, discuss restructuring of the CES at a news conference yesterday afternoon in Old Main. Seven decades shaped current CES By KIRSTEN BYERTS and BETH YOUNG Collegian Staff Writers During the 19305, experimen tal "Freshman Extension Centers" were created to bring education to students who would not have otherwise been able to attend Penn State. Although the original four centers closed within a few years, others arose, and soon nearby residents were petitioning the University to make them per manent. Now, with 17 locations across the state, University President Gra- Pa. waiting for Megan's Law Controversy still surrounds the law, which was unanimously passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives - and is expected to be signed by Gov. Tom Ridge. By JIM KINNEY and MICHAEL O'SULUVAN Collegian Staff Writeis Controversy has followed Megan's Law across the Delaware River. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted unanimously in favor of sending the bill patterned after a New Jersey law that was named for a slain child— to Gov. Tom Ridge. If Ridge signs the bill, which he is expected to do, sex offenders would have to register with authorities in their area. Neighbors, schools and day-care centers in the area would be notified if the offender was judged to be particularly violent. Local day care operators see the law as another tool to help them ensure children's safety. Colleen Mortimore, director of the Magic Years Childcare & Learning Center, 1200 Farmstead Lane, said the center is always cautious of the daily ham Spanier is planning to take the Commonwealth Educational Sys tem through its next phase in Uni versity history. "(CES) is considered one of the greatest success stories in higher education," Spanier said at a news conference yesterday, where he announced his new plan to restruc ture the CES. The idea of the CES was born in 1912 with the opening of the Exten sion Branch School in Allentown. The CES was initially called the Commonwealth Campus System and evolved during 83 years into an extensive educational network strangers and instills caution in the children "Of course I think it is a wonderful idea. It's important for people to be aware," she said. Not everyone is that , enthusiastic, as the law has already raised the ire of civil libertarians. Larry Frankel, legislative assistant for the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, said the organization is not in favor of the law. "I don't know if we are going to sue but I'm sure someone will be suing," he said. The law constitutes an excessive punishment, Frankel said. The offenders will continue to be punished after they leave prison. "It will make it more diffiCult for an offender to adjust back into the community," he said. While some see the rights of the offender violat ed, others see the welfare of children as para mount. "I think we have to weigh the good of the chil dren against the rights of the individual," said Judy Burgess, director of the Learning Station, 3035 Enterprise Drive. "You can't speak enough for (the children)." In the minds of many, this'law puts the two con cerns on a collision course. "I think it's a good idea in one respect, but on the other hand you made that one mistake," said Chris Please see MEGAN, Page 9. Sports Weather A brutal weekend ahead. lcers Coach Joe Battista ) , ,-0- Today, becoming cloudy by mid- 40441 d mix of day, high 65. Tonight, breezy 0 shooting for 200th win with late-evening showers, low dr 4411111 % 48. Tomorrow, wind-driven _ 4 tonight showers and temperatures falling ... to 40 by evening. . , Page 22 e - Page 10 by Paul Markowski • 30c collegian branched throughout the state. The University established the CES to make education more acces sible and affordable to people who may not have been able to attend the University because of reasons such as financial constraints, said Charles Hosier, retired professor of meteorology, former senior vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School emeritus. The Commonwealth Campuses were intended for the first two years of a four-year undergraduate program. Students finished their education at University Park. Please see CES, Page 9. Collegian Graphic/Matthew /delli Friday, Oct. 20, 1995 cut the COMMONWEALTH CAMPUSES By PAULA SHAKI Collegian Staff Writer University President Graham Spanier announced plans to conduct a year-long study of the structure of the Commonwealth Educational System yesterday that could lead to the addition or closing of certain Commonwealth Campus es. "The quest facing us today is whether that system . . . is proper ly organized to support the needs of the commonwealth of Pennsyl vania in the 20th century," Spanier said yesterday at a news confer ence. "What we're asking each campus to do is look at its future consider its mission for the future." Because of population growth and increasing numbers of high school and adult students who want to attend college, Spanier and Senior Vice President and Dean of the CES Robert Dunham asked each campus to consider two or three options from a range of 15 to better serve the state. And Corrinne Caldwell, common wealth educational officer at the Mont Alto Campus, said she is look ing forward to an expanded mis sion. "The students seemed to under stand where we were going and were interested," she said. "I think we have the latitude to do what we think will work with the communi ty." Campuses with a sufficient num ber of students, faculty and dorms could choose to become a four-year campus. Others could become part of a larger college, such as Penn State Erie or Penn State Harris burg. The goal is not to close Common wealth Campuses, but as the study is completed, the decision may be made to close one or more campus es, Spanier said. "We might want to take an exist ing campus and merge it with another one of Penn State's cam puses," he said. The University will still be con sidered one University geographi cally distributed across the state, and courses and credits will still be transferable, Spanier and Dunham said. The plan also has guarantees: ■ Tenured faculty will not lose their jobs and no changes will occur immediately. Faculty mem bers who do not want to be retrained or relocated to a differ ent campus will be offered early retirement. ■ Students at the campuses will be able to complete their courses of study at that campus and partic- Smaller companies can fight back Editor's note: This is the final part of a five-part series on big business in State College. This arti cle focuses on how small business es can compete with large national chains. By JIM KINNEY Collegian Staff Writer Just because a shiny new mass merchandiser moves into town, it does not mean that all small town merchants should fall on their swords. It is possible to beat the Wal-Marts of the world but not necessarily at their own game. After years of research, Kenneth Stone, professor of economics at lowa State University, said he might have a strategy for small businesses. Stone began researching the effects of Wal-Mart on lowa's county-seat towns in 1988, about 10 years after the chain moved into the state. He said he became fasci nated in the changes the retailer brought to the rural towns in which it prospered and wanted to do research on it. From his findings, he began to Published independently by students at Penn State ipate in discussions about the changes, Spanier said. By the end of this year, Spanier and Dunham said they hope to formulate a new plan for each of the Commonwealth Campuses. Jeffrey Butler, University Board of Trustees liaison for the Council of Commonwealth Student Govern ments who was appointed as a student liaison for the study said the restructuring will benefit everyone. "It's important to have student input and someone who can get input from the campuses," Butler said. "It's been a long time coming. In the end, there may be cuts that have to be endured, but overall it's going to benefit the students and the commonwealth." The planning this year is a pre- Well, you gotta ;';following 'options are available for consideration to Cr.unonwealifi Campuses of Penn State. Each campus will ‘• be given a limited number of choices based on campus 0 -* . , ll ype of student, dorms, beographical relationship to ~_ Institutions, and other factors. 8 :;•Continus present mission *Present mission with alteration- Under this option the campus has the opporttmity to define what the alteration should be and offer supporting data, (I) fi r m this •Ritur rkge- There are very few of the present campuses • option appropriate. *Graduate Center- This may be an option for some campuses which have a particular market for applied graduate programs and courses, growth potential and a minimum of unnecessary duplication with other colleges and universities. got• Upper division campus- This may be more appropriate in urban • areas where there may be a large number of community college A• transfer students who are location-bound and want an upper division 4: • • program dri)*Outreach Center- This would be an appropriate option for campuses with art older nontraditional market or with significant needs for tontirming education and community service. *Community College (not a part of Penn State). There may be some communities without a community college that would like to broaden the offerings of a local campus. •Pert at a mullfreampue/college- in some areas of the state where there are two or.more campuses located rather dose geographically, it may be appropriate to combine them under one administrative head. *A Campus of Penn State Erie or Penn State Harrisburg- This op on , may be appropriate for some of the campuses that are close ersoivh to Erie or Harrisburg. *An alliance with another college or university- Where there is another college or university in file region, there may be an opporl:!.inity for an affiance or formal collaboration. EiU:Okmal System: A Plan for Planning formulate strategies for small busi nesses to compete with large chains. In 1989, he gave his first seminar outlining strategies for small business. "You can survive if you learn how to 'play the game' as I call it," Stone said. At the request of chambers of commerce, main street organiza tions and local newspapers, he has spoken in 49 states including Pennsylvania Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The seminars, he said, have been successful. The most fulfilling part is receiving letters from previous ly terrified shopkeepers who learned how to prosper in the new business environment one not conducive to small merchants. James Kurre, associate profes sor of economics at Penn State LUi•J lude to the University Planning Council that will continue to cut and reallocate money for five years, beginning in 1997. The Uni versity's Future Committee which cut $3O million out of the budget during the past three years cut $lO million from the Com monwealth Campuses last year. "When the whole University starts its five-year planning pro cess, we will have established the mission of each campus, which will give the whole process more mean ing," Dunham said. The budget request to the state this year is about $292 million, but does not include additional funding for the study of the future of the CES, Spanier said. In following years, the University may ask for Please see SHAKE-UP, Page 9. choose... Collegian Graphlc/Matthew ZINN Collegian Graphic/Wafter Barrueto Erie, said the low prices of the large chains tend to pull customers away from local, mom-and-pop establishments. "I think part of what we see here is what happened with grocery stores in the not-too-distant past," he said. Kurre's parents, he said, shopped for groceries at the corner market when he was a child, until the advent of supermarkets. The su- Please see BUSINESS, Page 9.
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